Henry Mwungi

Henry cam home on September 5th. He was found lost in Mathare. A good Samaritan took him in and tried to trace his mother for a week before taking him to the police station. Henry is about 2y 3m old. He shows signs of trauma and indications that he had a strong bond to some one, possible his mother. For the first two weeks he would not say a word. He recently started to talk a little and was able to tell us that his name was Angi. We thought of the only similar common name, Mwangi. When we called, Mwangi he laughed and was very pleased. We are now trying to call him Mwangi as much as possible.

Mwangi is deeply traumatized but we have already seen big progress in him. At first he would not smile at all, latter he began to smile but if anyone saw him smile he would turn his head and cry. Now he is starting to smile openly although he is still a very serious boy. He clearly had a lot going on in his head and is a very intelligent child. We would like to take him to therapy but know that he is unlikely to respond to some one he does not know. Perhaps in the future. We look forward to see him overcome his hurdles.

UPDATE

Henry became a very happy and talkative boy. He was able to laugh and play like a normal child his age. He was sweet and caring especially towards the other children in the home. After three months with us Henry’s family started to look for him. They put up some posters and the good Samaritan that had found Henry directed the family to the police who had placed Henry with us.

It took a further nine months for the authorities to allow Henry to return home. He returned home shortly before his third birthday.

We are continuing to monitor Henry in the care of his grandmother. We have arranged for him to attend a very good school close to his home.